Race Results

I ran the Honolulu Marathon yesterday. I use the word "run" loosely. Actually, I did run most of the way. My finishing time was almost exactly one hour off my target goal time, but that's OK. I'm not out there to race. I sign up for the marathon mostly for motivation, to get me out and exercise on those days when I'm feeling lazy and need a little push. The fear of the pain I would feel without proper training is a great motivator.

I trained pretty well this year, but I discovered that my training did nothing to improve my time. It did, however, help me greatly with my recovery. Aside from a little soreness in my thighs and lower back, I feel great. No tiredness or fatigue. My main goal for the marathon is to finish without too much pain. My secondary goal is to improve my time. I did good on the prime goal, now I need to work on the time improvement.

The Honolulu Marathon is a great race. It is the third largest marathon in the U.S., behind New York and Chicago, but what the Honolulu Marathon is known for is it's organization and that the course doesn't close until the last person finishes. This year the last person finished in over 15 hours, and the officials and volunteers were still there to welcome them (her, I think).

The fun of being in the midst of 23,000 people for 26 miles is not to be missed. In this marathon, you're never alone. And besides all the officials and volunteers, people who live all along the route come out and cheer on the participants. Throughout Waikiki, many tourists get up early to take in the spectacle. Even with this year's heavy rain in the early hours, the fans were out.

Overall I was happy with my performance, but I've still got a ways to go with my training. I know I'm not a born runner, but I enjoy it and will start training for next year's marathon about March. Next up is the Great Aloha Run in February (8 miles). I wouldn't miss the excitement and entertainment of the Honolulu Marathon for anything (well, OK, I did miss the past couple of years, but I wouldn't miss it for much).

So, with my finish time of 5:34:32, I'm not in the elite group (winning time was something like 2:14), but I could compete with some 80 year olds (look at some of those age group finishing times, it's amazing).

In Males age 45-49 I was 646th out of 1,062
For all Males, I was 5,598th out of 10,504
And for All Finishers, I was 8,795th out of 20,058

It makes me think I'm almost in good enough shape to get out on the rugby field.